There is also a really interesting (scarifying-wise) discussion about apathy, existentialism and generally missing purpose in America's daily life, in the later comments to check out (scroll down 1/3, i.e. a mile).
Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
71–80 of 195 posts
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Australia is very stable geologically, apart from a bit on the S.E. corner, which is why it is flat. It is very old and hasn't had the evolutionary disruptions caused by mountain raising and flattening. The animals have evolved quite distinctly in their own niche. Foreign imports could seriously disturb the balance. See, for example, rabbits, foxes, cane toads.
Makes perfect sense. I guess I'm left wondering why smaller, remote islands don't have to do this. Places like Hawai'i, New Guinea, the Philippines, Iceland, or Japan. I'm no biologist, but my guess is that those places aren't known for large-scale agriculture.
Hawaii does do plant quarantine.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#73I wonder how much longer it will take before americans get enough to take a stand about this. I suppose it would never reach critical mass with flying because not enough americans are flying to care, which is why I can't wait for TSA to follow through with their plan to set up their nonsense at bus stops and subways.
When the nonsense is done at limo stands and private jets, you will see a change. No politician is deaf to the voices of "the people", but it's a lot easier to get into speaking range when you can afford a professional lobby.
It takes one phone call to speak to someone at your Congresscritter's office about this. They really do listen and, occasionally, even act on things which generate heat from constituents (ask any Republican who flipped on immigration circa 2007-2008). If you feel strongly about it, make the freaking call. (Or, better, write an honest-to-God on-dead-tree letter.)
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't really mean much to me to hear that an EU citizen can travel through the EU with minimal hassle. Plenty of Americans have traveled to dozens of US states, some of which are larger than EU countries with minimal hassle, no fingerprints taken, no interrogations or passports required. About 10 years ago, Canadians could do the same with just a driver's licence (and it was reciprocal for US citizens visiting C…
The EU borders are somewhat more formal than US state borders. So while it is not a good similarity to the US border control, it's equally unlike state borders.
Agreed. My point was not that states are just like EU countries. It was that lauding the ease of travel from EU country to EU country as an EU citizen is meaningless in the context of this discussion.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#75I have to admit, as difficult as it is, he makes a good point here. I'm nowhere near as well travelled, but we do a lot of work in the middle east (some of the nastier parts too), which is a place you would imagine a white westerner would count seriously against you. But, frankly, I've never felt safer or more welcomed in my life (apart from the odd dicey moment). OK, the US is not terrible, unsafe or specifically un…
Americans can be pretty suspicious of outsiders even if the outsiders are fellow Americans. Where I grew up, walking around town (instead of driving) or standing at the bus station meant you were at best are some sort of vaguely criminal transient.
Sounds like the start of Rambo I movie ;)
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#76NegativeK Insurance is for things that could destroy you if you didn't have it. Otherwise, by the law of averages, it's a waste of money. Unfortunately, in the US, lots of things can destroy you: Lawsuits from car accidents, medical issues, not having a car, et cetera. Nice comment.
By the law of averages, all insurance is a waste of money. Insurance companies make money. They do this by collecting more fees than they pay out. In aggregate, they win and you lose. The real question to ask is, "can I afford this insurance" and "is it worth it to me". If you buy a $250 mp3 player and the "insurance" is $300 and lasts for 6 months, it's a waste of money, because you aren't going to break your mp3 pl…
Insuring against small losses is a waste of money.
You've got to factor in the margin of the insurance company, but also the time and expense of claiming, keeping records, reading insurance terms, the potential for the claim not to be honoured etc. Better to self-insure - put that money aside into a fund and use that fund to cover your loses for small amounts.
For large losses that you may not have the capacity to cover, it is usually sensible. Where to draw the line depends on how deep your pockets are.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#77I am Indian and not muslim but "unfortunate" to have been born in the middle east. Everytime I visit the US, I have an intensive check, basically running all my finger prints through an extensive check. I have to swear what I saw is true (which I find awkward, raising my palm and repeating what they say). The officers take my wallet, go through all my credit cards, docs, etc. I have to wait for about 2 hours. I once missed my connection flight because of the long wait.
And what is crazier is that the same procedure repeats when I leave the US.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#78I wonder how much longer it will take before americans get enough to take a stand about this. I suppose it would never reach critical mass with flying because not enough americans are flying to care, which is why I can't wait for TSA to follow through with their plan to set up their nonsense at bus stops and subways.
Try Sea-Tac airport. 20 lanes at the border, 17 reserved for American citizens, of whom there are probably about 20 on a 400-seater plane. I've traveled all over the world, US borders are the most unpleasant. I'v had border guards in FSRs point guns at me but hey, those guys are just doing their jobs. In the US they go out of their way to be rude, lazy, incompetent and just plain obnoxious.
Or PDX, where Immigrations was so hostile that demand dropped to zero on direct flights from Asia and the airlines had to pull the routes.
Evidently it was better to simply book your flight to SEA, wait for those 3 lanes, then catch a separate flight south to avoid the pain and suffering at the hands of the PDX border guards.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#79I have to admit, as difficult as it is, he makes a good point here. I'm nowhere near as well travelled, but we do a lot of work in the middle east (some of the nastier parts too), which is a place you would imagine a white westerner would count seriously against you. But, frankly, I've never felt safer or more welcomed in my life (apart from the odd dicey moment). OK, the US is not terrible, unsafe or specifically un…
One of the more surreal conversations I've had while entering the US was one guy who wanted to know why I've been to Turkey/Egypt/Morocco so many times - he just seemed to refuse to believe me when I said that they are really nice places to go on holiday and that they are very common holiday destinations for Europeans. I actually had to explain what it is that I like about them! Note - I'm from the UK. [Edit: Note th…
If it makes you feel any better, I get more questions from US border control than any other country I've visited, and I'm an American, so it's not just foreigners they treat like crap.
Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US
#80everyone is utterly paranoid
Everyone?
I have bit my tongue for a long time about this great community's slipping quality, but honestly, how does shit like this make it to the top of Hacker News. Flagged.
Any suggestions for how to get back to having hacker news on Hacker News? (And please spare us the lame "situational logic" response of how is hacker news.)